My speech

This is Rex my son-in-law, he's a firefighter. This is how Mike would always introduce me. He was proud of who I was and what I had accomplished. Dad was a great man and has taught me a lot. We will miss him but never forget him. How could you? Here are some of my favorite memories.
I will never forget the day that I asked Mike for his approval for Cindy and my marriage. Mike knew why I was coming into the garage. Along with everyone else. Mike was a larger than life kind of guy. He told you what he thought no matter what. I walked in the garage and began with the small talk. I was so nervous to ask one little sentence. So after awhile Mike prompted me with"So what are you doing this weekend, Rex." My response was "Well, Mike, that is why I am in here. I would like to ask your daughter to marry me but I would be honored for your approval first." Then I saw a tear start to form in his eye. He chuckled and said "Of course my answer is yes, I could not imagine anyone else for my daughter. I consider you a son." Mike always had a way of making things seem very easy. There was nothing to big to handle.
An Oh Shit memory of mine was a hike up to Crystal Peak. Once we got to the trail head Mike got his gear on which included his multi-day pack, poles and his nice boots. My gear included a back pack that I borrowed from Mike and tennis shoes. We started out walking at a Mike's pace. Of course he would say "you can go ahead if you want, Rex." "No, no Mike you know what you are doing I will stay with you." We finally get to the top; had our lunch and took a nap, of course. We headed back down. As we were hiking I started to hear scratching on the trees. I looked around and saw two cubs playing. Looked up another ten to fifteen feet and saw momma bear staring at me. I pointed and stuttered bear. Mike said "Shit Run!" I saw him run by me and I thought to my self "I thought you were supposed to be calm around bears?" But i ran with him because he had more experience than me..... and I knew I could run faster than him. We got half a mile away and I looked back and saw him running as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast. We met up and laughed and then continued our hike probably at a faster rate than normal. We got to the trooper and headed back home and Mike says "How about a shake from Walley's." He loved his shakes. He lived for the moment with no regrets. He always love an adventure.
When I first met Cin I was lucky if could change the oil in my truck. So of course it was important to Mike to teach me to not only change the oil, but do a tune up, and do my brakes. So after a few times showing me how to do my brakes he let me do it on my own. I had the truck backed into the garage, wheel chalks in front of the wheels and the rear end up in the air. I finished the brakes and I was proud because I did the brakes by my self and I knew he would be proud as well. I removed the chalks and started to lower the rear end of my truck and it slide into the middle post of the garage. I thought to my self "crap Dad is going to be pissed." With my tail between my legs I went to into the house and asked Mike to come out to the garage. When he came out he said "Oh shit," followed by "Are you ok?" I said "yes." "Well then lets move the truck." That is the way Mike was. His grace for us was like no other. He would do anything for us at any time at any cost.
Mike has taught me that life is short here on earth. Do not hold back. Do not be afraid. I challenge each one of us to live life to the fullest with no regrets. Take time for family because family was one of the most important things to him. Next to his mountain gear of course. On his Life is Good shirts is says Do what you love. Love what you do and he truly did that.

We love you Dad.

God Bless